2021 NFL Salary Cap Reportedly Set At $182.5M, First Decrease Since 2011

The NFL has informed all teams that the 2021 salary cap will be $182.5 million per club. The amount is a decrease of 8 percent from last season, but the cap didn’t fall as low as initially feared.

According to Yahoo Sports, this is approximately $15.7 million less than the 2021 cap of $198.2 million, which factored in the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and not having full stadiums last season.

The league saw a 92 percent drop in overall attendance at games due to capped attendance limits. Some stadiums and teams could not allow fans into games due to local restrictions. 

The cap is now the lowest since 2010 when the NFL launched it’s first uncapped year since 1993. Salary cap limits had risen steadily every year since 2011 thanks to rising league revenues.

The salary cap is determined based on negotiations and revenue projections, among other factors. According to ESPN, if there had not been any negotiated projections, the cap would have been at $160 million based on the projected revenues of 2020 alone. 

Last summer, the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed that it would not put the cap any lower than $175 million. Last month they informed the teams that they should anticipate a cap of at least $180- $185 million.

Teams have until March 17 at 4 p.m. ET, when the 2021 NFL calendar begins, to comply with the cap. Many teams will be challenged and have to make difficult moves to get under it.

The NFL just informed teams the 2021 salary cap will be $182.5 million per club, source said.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 10, 2021

Final franchise tags values based on the $182.5 million salary cap: pic.twitter.com/xw1Ch1lKf0

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 10, 2021